Links of Love
by wandering wastrel
Summary: Protecting the future can mean sacrifices. But not all battles are fought the same way.


Links of Love

The room was brightly lit, the lowering sun's rays beaming cheerfully in through the open window. Faintly came the chirping of birds, as if the world were inviting anyone inside to come out and enjoy the last bit of the day. But the room's inhabitant was ignoring the enticing sounds outside, instead fiercely studying the book that lay on the bed before her. Hotaru Tomoe dangled her feet over the edge of the bed, softly humming to herself as she studied that day's assignment. One hand was absently playing with the pages of the book, gently riffling the bound sheets of paper.

Suddenly Hotaru raised her head from the pages before her, looking up with a puzzled expression. She tilted her head slightly, as if listening to some distant sound just on the edge of hearing. Eyes widening, her stillness ended as she jumped from the bed - the whisper of a certain phrase escaping her lips as she flew gracefully through the air.

It was as Sailor Saturn that she grabbed the Silence Glaive in mid-air as it appeared before her, and she hit the floor running towards the door of her bedroom. A left, a right, then down the stairs she ran, only to skid to a stop in the living room, stunned by what she saw there.

Haruka and Michiru were comfortably snuggling on the couch.

That by itself was certainly no surprise to the young Senshi, as the sight of her guardians was as familiar to her as anything in this world. That they were most definitely _not_ transformed into Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, and ready for battle, was the surprising part.

"Haruka-papa? Michiru-mama? But...," Hotaru faltered, as the startled pair deftly disentangled themselves and leapt to their feet.

"Sailor Saturn? What is wrong?" Haruka snapped, as two henshin were made ready to begin their owners' transformations.

"What's happening?" called another voice from the kitchen. As Setsuna calmly entered the room, Hotaru looked back and forth between her foster parents, a confused look upon her face.

"I... I thought I felt... something with Sailor Moon," Hotaru stammered. The three older women shared a look of puzzlement, which turned to concern as Hotaru shivered where she stood. "There it is again," Hotaru moaned. "It's not pain or fright, exactly, but it's from our Princess... isn't it?" Hotaru asked, confused by the sensations running through her.

The three older Senshi stood still, closing their eyes as each looked within themselves, searching for any impressions that might be coming from their future monarch. Hotaru waited, still feeling the sensations running through her small frame.

After a few seconds, they opened their eyes and relaxed. Michiru smiled, as Haruka chuckled and shook her head, bemused. "Oh, _that_," Haruka said, the relief obvious on her face. Setsuna was not smiling, though, as she opened up her cell phone, murmuring, "Let's just confirm it first, please."

Michiru and Haruka resumed their previous positions on the couch as Setsuna quickly dialed a number. A still-puzzled Hotaru shimmered briefly, reversing her transformation as seemingly no senshi duties were required for the moment.

"Hello Rei, this is Setsuna. ... No, no emergencies for a change. But something has come up. ... What is Usagi doing this evening? ... Ah, I see. Apparently Hotaru is now aware of that type of thing. ... Puzzled, at the moment, but fine. Will things progress tonight, or... Very well. Tomorrow. ... You can handle the situation? ... Then it would become my concern. ... Let's hope it's for the best. Tomorrow then." Setsuna returned the phone to its cradle as she turned to Hotaru.

"We should discuss this," Setsuna stated, as she walked over to the young girl, placing her hands gently on Hotaru's shoulders and guiding her towards the couch. Haruka and Michiru adjusted their positions to allow the other two Senshi to sit next to them.

"Hotaru," Setsuna began, taking the child by the hand, "I've arranged for the other Senshi to meet with you tomorrow evening at Rei's shrine. What you've begun sensing tonight... well, it's best if the other Senshi explain to you what it involves."

"But Setsuna-mama, if this has to do with our Senshi duties why don't I know it already? Why can't you explain it to me?"

"Because this is a duty that falls mainly to those Senshi closest to our Princess, I'm afraid."

"Hotaru," Haruka interjected, "if you wished to learn to play the violin from one of us, to whom would you turn?"

"Why, Michiru-mama, of course," Hotaru replied, turning to face Haruka.

"But why? Why not myself, or Setsuna?"

Hotaru smiled. "Because Michiru-mama knows more about the violin than you do."

"Exactly," Haruka smiled in return. "Well, the other senshi are... more in tune with this issue than the three of us are. So it's best if you learn about it from them."

"I see," the young girl said thoughtfully. "But..."

"We know you'll have many questions, Hotaru," Setsuna gently interrupted. "But all of them are better answered by the others, which is why you'll be spending the night with them tomorrow. To give you all the time you need to find your answers."

"But..." Hotaru turned her gaze to the floor. "I've never really been with the others without you or... Chibi-usa there."

As a look of sadness passed over Hotaru's face at the thought of her friend, the three older Senshi glanced at each other. "Hotaru," Michiru answered softly, "we know that you miss Chibi-usa since she went back to her own time. But we are all here, and we love you deeply."

"Oh, I know that Michiru-mama!" Hotaru banished the sorrow from her face, showing once again her small but dazzling smile. "I'm sure we'll have fun tomorrow night."

"Well then!" Haruka rose. "Have you finished your homework yet?" Hotaru's look of disgust provided all the answer necessary. "Nothing is likely to happen for the rest of tonight?" Haruka asked Setsuna. Setsuna slightly shook her head, indicating not. "Then back upstairs with you," Haruka laughed, "and don't worry about tomorrow!"

"All right, Haruka-papa," Hotaru replied only half enthusiastically, rising and then quickly dashing up the stairs.

The three women waited until they heard the sound of the girl's door close. Then they looked at each other, their causal expressions turning to looks of deep concern. "So it's happened," Haruka sighed.

"Yes," came Setsuna's neutral reply.

"I'm still not sure that this is a matter for the others."

"I know your point of view. But the others have dealt with it. They can better help Hotaru accept it as best she can. There are other reasons as well," Setsuna answered as she rose in her turn, and began to return to the kitchen.

"And if she can't accept it? Or will not?" Haruka softly challenged.

Setsuna paused, but did not turn. "Then it becomes my responsibility, Sailor Uranus. And I will fulfill my duty as surely as you have ever fulfilled your own." She then continued on her way to the kitchen, turning the corner from her teammate's sight.

Michiru gently placed her hand in Haruka's. "It won't come to that, my love," she whispered. Haruka squeezed her lover's hand in reply, looking up at the stairs where Hotaru had gone. "I'm sure you're right," Haruka breathed. "I hope you're right. At least... at least neither you nor I will be making the choice this time."

"Does that really make it easier?" Michiru inquired as she embraced her lover.

Haruka spared a final glance at the stairs, where the senshi that all three of them thought of as a daughter had gone. "No," she admitted. "No, it doesn't."

As the two turned to comfort one another, neither heard the slight, soft step of a child's feet turning from the top of the stairs to pad gently back down the hall. Hotaru silently entered her room again, closing the door behind her. Not a glance did she give to her open book as she climbed on the bed and curled into a ball, shivering. She remained there, still, looking blankly out the window as the setting sun slowly dragged the room into darkness; making no sound at all as the tears slowly ran down her face.

* * *

The following day found Setsuna driving towards Rei's shrine. Her skilled grace at the task appeared pedestrian, perhaps, compared to Haruka's trained aggression behind the wheel. Sitting beside her, though, Hotaru thought the change of pace was rather nice, and she watched the patterns of sunlight glimmering through the leaves of the trees that they passed. She held her hand just outside the car window, delighting in the feel of the wind pressing against it as the car moved along the winding way towards the city.

As their destination approached, however, the once-comfortable silence between the two seemed to grow more heavy and oppressive. Hotaru's hands dropped back into her lap, idly playing with the folds of her green skirt. Thus by the time of their arrival both were mutely glad to be able to leave the car and begin the walk up the long stairway to the shrine above.

Setsuna glanced at the young girl marching up the steps beside her; marching was indeed the right term, as Hotaru seemed to be forcing herself up the steps. There was something of a coiled spring about the girl as she progressed upwards towards the shrine, as if she was moving only with effort towards a place she did not want to go. Setsuna thought of what awaited the young senshi, and turned her eyes forward. She did not look at the girl again.

As they reached the top of the stairs, a familiar figure was there to greet them. But not the one they had anticipated.

"Oh, you're here! It's good to see you again, Setsuna-san, Hotaru-chan!" Minako burbled merrily, politely greeting the two with a smile and a face as bright as the short blue dress she wore. In the face of Minako's cheery welcome, both the new arrivals strove to at least be polite in their replies. Minako seemed oblivious to any tension in the other senshi, as she warmly wrapped a friendly arm around Hotaru's shoulders. She turned to ask, "Setsuna, thank you for bringing Hotaru by for the evening. Would you like to stay with all of us for a while? And..." Minako paused only briefly, with an involuntary glace towards the younger girl whose slight trembling she could feel, before continuing, "... perhaps a bit longer, tonight?"

The older woman gave a small, regretful smile, saying, "I'm sorry Minako-chan; but I have some errands to run this evening." Setsuna turned to Hotaru, "Just call any of us tomorrow and one of us will pick you up whenever you wish." Hotaru replied, "Yes, Setsuna-mama," while a look of puzzlement flickered briefly over her face.

"Great! The others are waiting for us, Hotaru, here let me get your bag, oh you're wearing your uniform did you come straight from school? At least there's no school tomorrow, right? Mako brought some snacks for us tonight..." Minako's burbling shifted into high gear as she lead Hotaru off towards the buildings where the other Senshi were. Setsuna mused to herself, as she began the walk back down the long stairway to the street, that Minako was almost succeeding in hiding the nervousness from her voice as she spoke.

At the stairs' midpoint, Setsuna stopped suddenly. After a pause, she turned to the side and stepped off the stairs into the greenery beside it. Plunging deep into the thicker parts of the wild vegetation, she gracefully made her way back towards the shrine, gradually working her way to her desired position from where she could view the shrine buildings. A phrase softly spoken, and Sailor Pluto calmly grasped her Time Staff and settled in to do a thing she did so often - wait.

* * *

Rei stepped into the room where the others were gathered, sliding shut the door behind her, still attired in her shrine maiden's miko. "There, I've tended the fire for the evening. Grandfather and Yuuichirou are still away on that tour of shrines, so we have the whole place to ourselves." She plopped indelicately down on the cushions next to Minako, who promptly popped a small cookie into Rei's mouth. Minako giggled as Rei's face fought between showing annoyance at Minako's action and showing pleasure at the wonderful taste of another of Makoto's creations. Pleasure won, and Rei made 'yum' noises while Minako laughed even harder.

Seated across the small table from the two, the creator of the confection laughed at her friend's antics and, nudging Ami who was seated beside her, said "Rei's been around Usagi too long; they're starting to act the same." Ami merely smiled in reply, as a shocked and insulted Rei tried to sputter a retort around the cookie crumbs still in her mouth. Minako began to howl in glee as Rei's face turned the color of her senshi fuku, and Makoto slid a glass of juice across the table to Rei by way of apology.

"Um... will Usagi-chan be coming to the meeting, too?"

With just that simple question, Hotaru shattered the mood in the room. The well-lit room seemed a shade darker, no longer quite a place for giggles or merriment. Aware of the sudden shift, Hotaru's cheeks reddened, and she tried to whisper an apology.

"Nonsense, Hotaru," comforted Minako as she moved to sit beside the younger girl, and gave her a friendly hug. "You've nothing to be sorry for; it's we who should apologize to you." Three heads nodded quickly in agreement.

"Unfortunately," chimed in Ami, "Usagi won't be here with us this evening. You see, that... that's kind of the whole problem."

"I'm not sure I'd call it a 'problem', Ami," murmured Makoto.

Ami smiled at her friend. "No, perhaps not a 'problem'. The 'situation', then." The two girls shared a smile, while the look of confusion grew on the face of Hotaru. Seeing this, Minako said, "We're not explaining this very well."

Rei sighed. "How _can_ we explain it, Mina? This... I mean it was difficult before, but now..."

Minako firmly stated, "Well all we're doing now is confusing Hotaru, and that's not the point." The blonde turned to the young girl at her side, who was embarrassedly clutching the hem of her skirt in her hands. "Hotaru, we'll let you decide. Do you want an explanation in the short version, or the long version?"

"I... I don't know which to ask for, because I still don't know for sure what the meeting is about or anything." Hotaru looked at each of the other girls in turn. "Does it have to do with Sailor Moon? Or with me? Or...?" she asked, her voice trailing off.

"Right. Ami, perhaps you'd best start with your ideas about the whole thing."

"All right," Ami replied. Turning to Hotaru, she began: "Have you ever wondered where our powers come from?"

Hotaru hesitated before replying, "Of course, I've wondered; but there didn't seem to be a way to discover the reasons behind why our powers exist, or why we specifically have them... so I guess I simply thought of it as 'magic' and accepted it as best I could."

Makoto interrupted, "A nice practical approach. I like that."

Ami gently shushed Makoto. "Yes, there isn't exactly an instruction manual that comes with being a senshi. But I have some theories about where our power comes from, and more importantly, why we all seem to relate to our planets, each other, and most of all to Usagi, in the way we do."

Hotaru leaned forward a bit, her interest in Ami's theories evident. "When you say 'relate to', do you mean how we can feel when Usagi is in trouble?"

"Yes, when she's in danger, or when she's... feeling strongly about... things."

"Things?" Hotaru cocked her head to the side, puzzled still, but picking up on Ami's strange emphasis upon the word.

Rei replied quietly, "That, is why you and all of us are here tonight. Usagi's feelings and our link to her."

Hotaru looked at Rei, then back at Ami, her shyness seeming to melt away as it became clear to her that this was definitely senshi business. "Very well, then. I think I'd like the long explanation, please." She leaned back as Ami continued.

"Please understand that these are only ideas, and I've yet to think of a way to test them out let alone confirm if they are correct or not. But being able to know where our powers come from, and why they're vested in us, has always seemed like knowledge we should have. Our enemies only seem to get more powerful, and if we don't understand our own strengths that ignorance can be used against us.

"And that's why I started thinking about star seeds." Ami paused as the others winced slightly, the less than pleasant memories of their recent battle against Galaxia coming to mind. "About why we have them, why ours are different than other humans, and most of all why senshi appear to be grouped according to star systems. Also about energy, and life forces, and why people's life force can apparently be a source of energy. It all doesn't seem to have much to do with each other, yet there must be a connection. And I think I might - only _might_, please remember - have figured out at least part of the answer.

"I think that life either is, or generates, as much a kind of physical force as gravity, electromagnetism, or the strong and weak nuclear forces. And that we senshi are essentially the points at which life interacts with the other forces most strongly."

Minako stage-whispered to Hotaru, "This is where Ami gets spooky and she loses me."

Luckily Hotaru turned to her left to look at Minako, and thus was just in time to see the two pillows that struck the blonde-haired senshi square in the face.

* * *

Sailor Pluto naturally gave no sign of it, but she was quite aware of the presence that was slowly moving towards her through the tangled underbrush. Her gaze remained firmly fixed on the shrine even as the newcomer approached. She reacted not at all even when with a sudden movement the interloper leapt forward and landed on the branch of the tree right next to her.

"Artemis," Sailor Pluto said quietly in greeting, not turning to face the new arrival.

"Sailor Pluto," the white cat replied politely. "I was fairly certain I'd find you here this evening."

The senshi's raised eyebrow was all the question necessary.

The cat snorted, settling down on the branch to where he too could watch the shrine through the vegetation. "No, you haven't suddenly become all that predictable. Minako told me that Hotaru would be here this evening. And why."

The human's eyes glanced towards the feline, and were not surprised to find the gaze returned.

Artemis continued calmly, "The others may not have thought of it, but seeing as how there might be a threat to the time line in there, tonight, it only made sense that you might be nearby."

Setsuna nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Shall we wait together, then?"

"Such was my plan. I always watch them at this time, just as Luna watches over Usagi, although I'm not sure if any of them know that."

"Oh?" The look the senshi gave to the cat was innocent, but the tone wasn't.

To the extent that cats could blush, Artemis did so. "Not _watch_, watch _over_. I guard them. They're vulnerable at these times, and I will protect them from any who would harm them, if I can." He paused. "From _any_ who would harm them, Sailor Pluto. Any of them, in there, tonight."

She returned her gaze to the shrine. Her softly repeated, "I see," was tinged ever so slightly with regret.

Silence reigned in the wood again as the two watched, each for reasons of their own.

* * *

Ami laughed, watching as a pillow-struck Minako gave a squeak then theatrically toppled to her side, feigning unconsciousness. A beaming Rei and Makoto gave each other 'V' signs, and even Hotaru couldn't help but softly giggle at the blonde's antics.

Mina quickly sprang back up and resumed her position. "Sorry Ami; I'll hush." Though her gaze was contrite, Minako's eyes shone at the soft sound of Hotaru's giggling.

"As I was saying," Ami continued, "I think we are the representations of the points at which life interacts with the rest of the solar system and the energies therein."

"I don't understand," Hotaru replied, slightly shaking her head.

"I don't understand it all either, Hotaru. I can only guess at why we, as humans, have the powers that we have, and at why they seem to relate to the planets in our system. And those guesses have to do with an idea about how the solar system was formed."

The other girls sipped quietly from their drinks as Ami continued. "Obviously at some point during the formation, the planets grew out of the disk of material rotating about the Sun. Eventually due to gravitational forces, the planets because distinct bodies. The interactions between gravity and the other physical forces known to science are fairly well understood. But at some point, I think that life arrived in our system, either born here or seeded from elsewhere. And at that time, I think the Sailor Senshi were, in a way, born."

"But... but humans couldn't have lived back then, surely?" Hotaru protested.

"No, of course not. I don't mean we were born, literally, but the potential for senshi were created. Perhaps that's when our star seeds were made... I'm not sure. But all forms of energy known by science generate some kind of field, where their effects can spread out from their source, even if it's only a small distance. I think that life, too, has a kind of field, and that the senshi were created out of the interaction of that life field with the gravitational fields of the planets."

Ami stopped for a moment to sip from her drink. "Then later, when sentient life finally arose, those potentials were expressed in us. It might also explain why all humans seem to have star seeds, if less powerful ones; they too interact with a planet's forces, namely the Earth. And so our powers would seem to derive from our star seeds, which are the nexus points of the initial interaction of life force with the concentration of physical forces in each planet."

She paused, sighing. "Or, I'm completely wrong."

Makoto took Ami's hand, murmuring, "I doubt you've been completely wrong in your life, Ami." Ami smiled at her friend, squeezing back.

Hotaru was frowning in thought. "Ami-ch... Ami," Hotaru stumbled over the lack of honorific, finally realizing that the others were not using them. "That would explain some things. But then why is there a Sailor Moon, when the other planet's satellites don't have associated senshi?"

Ami smiled. "That's a good question, Hotaru. I'm not sure, of course, but there are theories that claim at one time the Moon was a part of the Earth. If that is true, then I think the present day Moon contains the physical point where life was first brought into our world, rather than Earth. And if the two separated after life was here, it would help explain the strong bond between the bearers of the seeds of the Moon and Earth."

"But then why isn't there just one seed for both Moon and Earth, if they separated after?" Hotaru asked, still thinking out the possibilities.

Ami sighed, "I don't know. Perhaps it's because although life started on the part contained by the Moon, Earth had life in far greater abundance, and the two balanced each other. Perhaps that's why Usagi has such raw power at her command, and we can channel our power through her, while Mamoru is so very linked to the life of the Earth."

"So life is linked to the Prince, while we're linked to our Princess," Hotaru said, softly, getting the feel of the idea.

The young senshi broke off, as a sudden wave of sensation drove through her body, seeming to start from her lips and move throughout her being. Even as the shocking feeling moved through her, Hotaru could see similar responses from the other girls seated around her, as they all shivered until the moment passed.

"Oh yes," Rei said quietly. "We're linked to Usagi all right. Of that, there is no doubt."

"What was that?" Hotaru whispered, holding her hand to her lips.

"That," Minako answered, "was Usagi kissing Mamoru. He probably just picked her up for their date tonight."

Makoto was rubbing her own lips as well. "That was about what I expected, what with Mamoru just getting back after weeks of being away."

Rei glanced at the clock. "He's right on time. Although I'm surprised Usagi was ready. Next they should be going to the movie, then dinner, then back to his place."

Minako grinned. "Usagi's been getting ready ever since she met Mamoru's plane yesterday. With that much preparation, even she can be almost on time."

"Usagi's parents insisted that she go with them on a family outing last night, after she met his plane. Otherwise we'd have been meeting last night instead," Ami explained to Hotaru.

Hotaru's look was uncomprehending. "You mean we're here because... because Usagi has a date?"

"More like because of what they're going to do on their date," stated Rei, as she reached for the last of her drink.

The older girls fell silent, as Hotaru looked searchingly at each of them in turn. Then she shrugged. "I don't understand."

"I could get more snacks," Makoto said brightly. "I should probably check the flame," came from Rei. Both moved, a bit too eagerly, to exit the room.

"No, no, sit down," said Minako, waving them back to their places. "This is a job for the Senshi of Love." Minako turned to Hotaru, deciding not to notice Rei's and Makoto's rolling eyes or Ami's amused smile.

"Hotaru, we're not here just because Usagi has a date with Mamoru. It's because... well, starting a few months ago, they started... (ahem) they became intimate with each other."

"On a regular basis," chimed in Rei.

"Hush, you," Minako shot at Rei. She continued, deliberately ignoring Hotaru's flushed embarrassment at her last statement.

"Shortly after the battle with Galaxia, Usagi decided she didn't want to wait any longer. And now when the two of them kiss, Usagi feels wonderful of course. And we feel a little bit of what she feels."

"Through our link with her," Hotaru said, trying to understand.

"Yes. And when they do..." Minako began to falter, "the other things they do, we can feel that, too. We can feel... well, all the... other things. Rather strongly."

"In great detail," said Ami quietly, her face rather red.

"As if we were in her skin with her," Makoto confirmed, also embarrassed.

"All. Night. Long," Rei grumbled.

"And now," Minako finished quietly, "apparently, so can you. And probably will. Tonight."

Hotaru's eyes were quite wide with her dawning comprehension. "Oh no," she whispered.

Four heads firmly nodded, in agreement with her sentiment.

* * *

Few beings without a cat's sharp senses would have noticed the ever so slight tensing of Sailor Pluto's hand around the staff she held. Which was, Artemis thought, the point of his being here.

"So it begins?" the feline whispered into the gloom.

"In a sense, yes," came the equally quiet reply. "Would you really fight me, Artemis? Would you try to stop me from protecting the future, if the need comes?"

"Only if you try to harm any of them, Sailor Pluto."

"Even if that's the only way to save the entire world? Even at the price of the future we've all fought and died for?"

"There's been enough dying. There will be plenty more. Far sooner, I think, then you've led us all to believe." He paused, then continued, "I have it easier than you do, Setsuna, and I realize it. While you must protect the future and all it holds, almost everything and everyone I have to protect is in that room. And I will protect it. Even from you, if I must."

He turned then, to look again at the senshi beside him. "Although I sincerely wish it doesn't come to that. I don't think we can get to where we're going by sacrificing each other. There's got to be a way."

Pluto turned, challenging him with her gaze. "Do you think you can stop me, Artemis?"

The response was as instant as it was sad. "No. I don't have a hope of stopping you, Sailor Pluto. I'm not a fool." He returned his gaze to the shrine, thinking of those within. "But I might slow you down, just for a second, maybe just enough to let the others act. And that would be enough."

* * *

Hotaru remained stunned and silent. The others looked at her with growing anxiety.

"I think we broke her," said Rei quietly.

"Hotaru-chan?" whispered Minako, hesitantly placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. At the touch, the younger girl startled slightly, her eyes once again focusing on her fellow senshi.

"You... feel... everything they... um... do?" The words came with difficulty from Hotaru's throat.

"Well, not _everything_," Minako replied. "We can't feel them when they're just holding hands, or rubbing shoulders as they walk down the street, or a quick kiss here or there. It's only the really intimate things, the ones that Usagi feels strongly about."

"Like the sex," Rei dryly commented.

"She certainly feels strongly about that," Makoto added.

"But... but... can't you block it somehow?" Hotaru asked, with the desperation clear in her voice.

"Yes, we could, Hotaru," was Ami's calm answer. "We could each try to block the feelings coming from Usagi, and we'd probably be quite successful at it. And we'd assuredly get better at blocking the more we practiced it. But Usagi would almost certainly feel us blocking her out. And that's precisely what we dare not do."

"But... why?"

"Because Usagi doesn't know that she's doing this to us," answered Rei. "She could block it herself anytime she wants, but the thought of what she's doing hasn't even occurred to her. She doesn't realize that she's beaming out her feelings about Mamoru so strongly that it effects us, and even anyone around her. The two of them just walking down the street with her hanging on his arm, makes everyone around them feel happier and walk lighter. It's like she's dripping pure happiness everywhere she goes."

"And," interrupted Minako, "if Usagi feels us blocking her, she'll realize what she's doing, and particularly what she's been making us feel while she and Mamoru make love."

"And," Makoto joined in, "that would embarrass her a lot, since she thinks she's keeping it all a secret from us."

"And," Ami quietly added, "she would stop being intimate with Mamoru for at least a little while due to the embarrassment."

"But surely that would be worth it, to avoid all this!" Hotaru looked at the others in flustered confusion.

"But Hotaru..." Minako began, then sighed. Not able to look Hotaru in the eye, she continued, "When is Chibi-usa going to be born?"

"Chibi-usa? She is born far in the future, to Endymon and Neo-Queen Serenity. What does that..."

"How do you know that?" Minako asked forcefully. "Have you been told that by Setsuna, perhaps? Did Chibi-usa tell you herself?"

Hotaru opened her mouth to reply, but paused. She suddenly realized she didn't, in fact, know precisely when her best friend would be born.

"That's the problem, Hotaru," Ami told her. "We aren't precisely sure when Chibi-usa will be born. We're pretty sure it's after the time when the world will be covered in ice after whatever the great crisis will be, but not positive. Even if that's true, the real issue that affects us is: when will she be conceived? In fact if she's conceived before the world is frozen, and born afterwards, it might explain her unusual aging pattern." Ami sighed heavily. "Either way, if we embarrass them by telling them what we feel, and we make Mamoru and Usagi _not_ make love on the right day..."

"But," a horrified Hotaru said, a terrible comprehension dawning, "then Chibi-usa..."

"Yes," from Ami. "Since we don't know when Chibi-usa will be conceived, and Sailor Pluto will not or dares not tell us, if Usagi and Mamoru were to miss the right day, due to embarrassment over what we've felt from them, then Chibi-usa wouldn't be born. And so Chibi-usa wouldn't come back from the future to help us fight Pharaoh Ninety. And that..."

"That would mean we would have not defeated Mistress Nine, the Silence would win, and the world would be destroyed," Hotaru finished heavily.

The silence that fell over the room was not as devastating as the Silence, but it was every bit as thorough.

Finally Makoto sighed. "I hate time travel. You have to fight the same battle over and over again."

Shaking, Hotaru stood, and walked slowly over to the window. She leaned against the sill of the open window, and stared out at the gathering dusk for a long time. Minako began to rise at one point, but a gentle hand on her shoulder and a shake of the head from Makoto settled her back upon the cushions.

"I just wish Setsuna could tell us how long we have to do this," Rei said softly. "Is it really that bad?" asked Makoto, glancing significantly at Minako. Rei reddened. "I didn't mean it that way, Minako." Minako just smiled and waved Rei's comment off, still intent on Hotaru, who continued to gaze out into the gloom.

After a while Makoto gently gathered up the cups and other remnants of their snacking, and quietly went off towards the temple's kitchen. She returned quickly, sitting down beside Ami this time, and taking Ami's hand in hers.

Finally, Rei spoke quietly, "What are you thinking about, Hotaru?"

The young girl only turned part way from the window. "Nothing, really. Or maybe everything... I was expecting to fight for my life tonight, you know." Hotaru didn't notice the looks of shock on the other senshi's faces. "But I wasn't expecting to be... raped..." She choked on the word, sobbing. And suddenly found herself embraced by senshi who almost flew to her side.

"NO!" they cried to her as one. "It's not like that, it's not it's not," babbled Minako, clutching Hotaru from one side as Rei hugged her from the other, murmuring much the same denial, stroking her hair to comfort her. Makoto and Ami were left with no room in which to also comfort Hotaru. Makoto finally in frustration hugged the three of them, together, as Ami looked on, aghast at the conclusion Hotaru had come to.

"We're sorry, Hotaru," Makoto almost rumbled out, trying to keep the emotion from showing in her voice, as she released the three. "We got to feel it before we figured out what was going on, so we know it isn't... it's not bad. It doesn't feel bad." Minako looked up at Makoto, still helping Rei hold the tearful Hotaru from collapsing on the floor.

"Yes, it's not bad, Hotaru," Minako said, putting as much conviction into her voice as she could. "It's just..."

"... inconvenient," Rei finished. "Stupid Usagi."

Hearing the mixture of love and exasperation in Rei's voice brought a teary laugh from Hotaru.

"So, then, what is... it like... when..." Hotaru choked out between wiping away the tears from her shock.

Behind Hotaru's back, Mako quickly placed her hand over Rei's mouth just in time. Mina answered, "It's like... well, kind of like being in her skin, but also like being..." Mina looked to Makoto and Rei for some time of help, but they only silently gestured with their eyes for her to keep talking. "... like being hand-dipped in her love and rolled around in it," she finished lamely. The others' pained expressions told her the simile left a bit to be desired.

"Oh... sort of like how when Sailor Moon saved me," Hotaru said shakily.

The three senshi around Hotaru, surprised, stepped back from Hotaru a bit with that statement, although Minako still supported the younger girl's arm. Ami stepped forward to hand Hotaru a tissue. As Hotaru dried her tears, Mako realized she still had her hand over Rei's mouth, and removed it, glancing apologetically towards her. With a small shake of her head, Rei silently told her friend it was all right, their close friendship not requiring words.

Minako looked down at Hotaru. "You mean when Usagi brought you back after you fought Pharaoh Ninety?" "Yes," Hotaru said, nodding. "Didn't she tell you afterwards?"

"No," Rei replied, "she didn't want to talk about that part much. We didn't push her."

"We mostly heard what happened from Michiru and Haruka," Ami said from where she was once again sitting.

Realizing that Ami was back across the room, made the standing senshi suddenly realize their positions around Hotaru. As Hotaru began to blush again, everyone moved back to where they'd been sitting.

"Well," Hotaru began, still a bit teary-eyed, "when Sailor Moon came after me, I didn't notice at first, since I didn't think she could and I was too busy destroying Pharaoh Ninety. But then just as I died, she was there. It was like being... in a cocoon of love. And I guess that's how she brought me back, but I don't remember that part of course."

"So she stopped you from dying after your Glaive attack?" Minako whispered into the quiet room.

"No, nothing can stop that, not even the Princess. I died. She just brought me back right then." And the thought that Hotaru kept to herself was '_at least dying wasn't so lonely that time_.'

Again the sensations came upon them without warning, unbidden, thrusting into their beings, unmistakably and undeniably... the taste of chocolate ice cream.

"They're at dessert," Makoto said, quite unnecessarily.

"We have to feel the Princess eating, too?" exclaimed Hotaru, her hand to her mouth.

"Not usually, but she seems to be very excited tonight. But, they're through dinner already?" Rei asked, glancing at the clock. "They must be in a hurry."

"Then we'll have to be ready sooner than we thought." Minako turned to Hotaru again. "I'm sorry Hotaru, but we have to get you ready, and quickly."

Hotaru paused. Mustering all her courage, she simply said, "What do I have to do?"

Minako's smile lit up the room, and the relief from the others was palpable. Taking Hotaru's hand, Minako simply said, "Thank you Hotaru. The thing is, there's only one thing you really _must_ do. Don't fight it. Usagi's feelings and sensations will wash through you, and you must let them. Don't try to push them out, no matter how much you don't like it or don't want it. She could sense your resistance and notice how she's affecting us, and everything would be lost."

"So I just don't do anything?"

"That's one way. And that might be all you have to do; we don't know how strongly this will affect you. You might not have any problem dealing with it at all."

"It affects us all to different degrees," Ami joined in. "We think it's roughly equivalent to how far our planets are from the Earth and Moon."

"Minako and myself seem to feel Usagi much more than Ami and Makoto do," stated Rei.

"That's why Michiru and Haruka can barely notice it even if they try to feel it, we think," continued Ami. "The planet Saturn is twice as far away from Earth as Jupiter is, but Uranus is four and a half times as far away compared to Jupiter."

"I still feel it very strongly, though, Hotaru," said Makoto. "We'd been thinking you were more like Haruka and Michiru, and wouldn't have to deal with this situation. Now, though, we just don't know."

"But why would I suddenly start to feel it when I hadn't before?"

"Possibly because your body's aging is finally stabilizing," Ami ventured, "although... have you started having periods yet, Hotaru?" Hotaru merely shook her head. "Then it's likely that your aging isn't accelerating any more."

"There's a room down the way if you want to go through it in private, Hotaru. There's a sleeping mat and a robe... it's best to take off your clothes, they can get ripped," explained Minako.

"Ripped?" Hotaru's face showed her disbelief.

"Usagi can be very enthusiastic sometimes," Rei said, rolling her eyes, "and with Mamoru gone for a while, tonight will probably be one of those."

"But there's another choice you have, Hotaru," Ami said, looking at Makoto and smiling. "We discovered that being with each other during these... occasions, makes things much easier."

"Being together?" asked Hotaru, becoming a bit confused with all the information being given to her so quickly.

Makoto took Ami's hand, and explained, "This happening to us helped Ami and I finally admit that we loved each other." Ami's face proclaimed her embarrassment even as she smiled at her lover. "And we discovered that if we make love while Usagi is making love, we hardly notice what's happening with her."

"It's a wonderful distraction," agreed Ami.

"Um, congratulations..." said Hotaru, sincerely happy for them but now feeling even more overwhelmed. She turned to Rei and Minako, a question in her eyes.

"Mina and I are good friends who help each other through this," stated Rei emphatically. Minako nodded, but Hotaru wasn't quite sure if the golden-haired senshi had just winked at her or not.

"But I don't see..." begin Hotaru, who broke off when she did start to understand. "You mean, all of you... _together_..."

"Hotaru," said Minako, very gently, "if you want us to, if you _need_ us to, any of us will be with you. One of us, two, all of us if you need us." The other three senshi nodded in agreement. "All of us have been with each other; we love each other as friends, and Ami and Makoto as more than friends of course." She leaned back heavily. "Yes, it was embarrassing at first, and it's embarrassing to tell you about it now. But that's the way it is, and until Chibi-usa is born that's the way it's going to be."

Hotaru was speechless, as the concept of what her fellow senshi were offering slowly worked its way into her comprehension. "I... I think I'd better... um, just be in the room.. by myself. Please."

"All right," said Minako, rising. "I'll show you where everything is." Hotaru got up as well, somewhat shakily, and followed Minako as she scooped up Hotaru's bag and led the way to the nearby room.

* * *

The room Minako led Hotaru to was quite obviously not often used, and was quite small. There was a sleeping mat prepared, in the center of the room, with blanket and pillows. A small table sat in one corner, supporting a few candles, one of which provided a low glow of illumination, and a couple of vending machine cans of juice as well. The candle flickered occasionally as a faint breeze blew in through the slightly open window.

Minako wordlessly stepped to the closet, opening it to reveal several bathrobes. The older senshi reached in and pulled out a shorter one for the trembling girl beside her.

Minako handed the robe to Hotaru, then stepped over to the table, depositing the bag next to it. "There's not much here; this is a room the shrine uses for visiting monks, I suppose. But then there's not a lot we need, after all." Hotaru simply clutched the robe to her, still not quite believing what was about to happen.

Minako surveyed her work, what little it was, and nodded. She stepped back to Hotaru, and gazed seriously at her fellow senshi.

"Hotaru, I understand why you'd want to be alone through this. But please, remember, you can't resist the... sensations, or the whole future we've fought for may disappear. This is as much a battle as any other we've been through, but this one we win by _not_ fighting." Minako grasped Hotaru by the shoulders, "If you need help, call out to us. Any of us. All of us. We'll help." She then surprised Hotaru by drawing her into a gentle hug.

"You don't _have_ to be alone," Venus whispered into Saturn's ear.

Minako drew back, smiled at the younger girl, then slipped away, sliding shut the door behind her.

Hotaru gulped, stepped over to the mat on the floor, and more collapsed than sat down upon it. She stayed that way for several minutes, staring blankly into space, still clutching the robe to her chest, too many emotions happening inside for her to handle.

With a sigh, the girl laid the robe at her side, and began to undress.

* * *

Minako returned briskly to the outer room, and pitched in with the others to help rearrange things for the rest of the evening. The four were so well practiced in this that they knew where to place everything; Rei moved the table out of the way while Minako pushed the seats against one wall, and Ami and Makoto pulled mats and sheets from a small closet and began arranging them in the middle of the room. Rei dimmed the lights as well, creating a more intimate atmosphere for what they were calmly preparing to do.

Makoto sidled up behind Ami as the latter reached back to unzip her blouse. The taller girl wordlessly and slowly pulled the zipper down, following its path by kissing softly down the flesh that was thus exposed. Ami purred and arched her back like a cat, as the other two senshi smiled at the lovers' foreplay. Mako seemingly began to pull Ami's blouse over her head, but her hands stopped moving upwards as they reached the level of Ami's breasts. Makoto groped her gently through her bra and nuzzled her neck as Ami giggled appreciatively.

As Ami and Makoto continued to undress each other, combining actual progress with kisses, gropes, and giggles, Minako and Rei went about the process more matter-of-factly. While Minako slowly took off each piece of her clothing and folded it neatly before placing it off in one corner, Rei simply slipped out of her miko's layered robes, revealing her lack of underclothes, and laying the robes aside before slipping gracefully under the sheets atop their sleeping mat.

Minako was turned slightly aside, still standing, reaching behind her back to unclasp her bra, then setting the shed garment atop the others. Her panties were last, the senshi of love simply placing them on her pile of clothing, and stretching a bit as she again stood tall. As she reached up to untie the red ribbon from her hair, Minako was completely unaware of how Rei was gazing up at the blonde's now nude form. Waves of mixed emotions ran subtly across Rei's face as Minako's long blonde hair, at last free, fell down around her shoulders. Ami and Makoto were very aware of Rei's expression, however, and cast each other a knowing glace, before quickly and noisily completing their own disrobing lest Rei notice them noticing.

Minako joined Rei under the sheet, laying on her side facing her friend. Rei smiled and reached up to pull the sheet further up Minako's body, moving closer towards her at the same time, touching shoulders together to share the other's body heat. For a few heartbeats Minako and Rei just gazed upon each other, until they heard Makoto growl, "Now I have you, my pretty...," and Ami yelped in feigned terror. Their fellow warriors' antics caused Minako and Rei to share a look of disbelief, then both began to giggle.

Then, suddenly even though expected, Usagi's sensations flooded them all, and they felt Mamoru's tongue enter their mouths as their future monarchs kissed each other passionately. They could feel clothes being tugged off their bodies though they were already nude, and the pressing, almost bruising lips crushing against their own. Lips they felt themselves crushing back against, though the lips were not there, and they did not move.

Ami gulped once, as Makoto raised up above her and came down, kissing her friend and lover, driving out the ghostly impressions of Usagi from Ami's perceptions. Minako's eyes widened slightly in the mischievous, almost manic look that Rei had grown to both love and almost fear, and the blonde whispered, "Here we go!" before joining the raven-haired beauty's lips with her own.

Makoto half-rolled herself onto Ami's body, curling her arms around and under Ami to grasp the smaller girl's shoulder with one hand, and run her other hand into the short blue hair, gently cradling her love's head as they kissed deeply. The two felt the impression of being picked up and carried away, but they easily ignored it in the face of the sensations they were experiencing in reality.

Rei and Minako, though also partially entwined, lying on their sides facing each other, could not so easily dismiss what Usagi was experiencing. Rei's tongue darted inside Minako's mouth, while Minako's leg was already working it's way deeper between Rei's thighs, seeking to start that friendly friction between them, yet they still clearly felt lightheaded as they seemed to be moved swiftly across a room and then laid upon a bed, though neither had moved.

A few minutes later, all four felt a new body lie down upon them, and the dual sensation of a ghostly nude man's body and the tangible female one they actually clasped, made all of them moan, even muffled by each other's increasingly passionate kisses.

Then a shout, nearly a scream, rent the air; a single name, desperately cast out from the nearly forgotten, lonely, senshi of death and rebirth who lay alone in the small room down the hall. The owner of that name leapt up from her bed, and without a glance back at the one she was leaving, flew to the one who called her, knowing that the one who now lay alone behind her would understand, and even approve, of her going.

The one left behind sighed, just a little, barely a sigh at all, and surely not loud enough for the other two to hear. And yet, the two lifted the sheet covering them as one, and a simple, "Come on," in invitation and demand. Thus the three remaining cuddled together, sharing kisses, caresses, and more, as the movements and emotions of their Princess moved through them all.

* * *

Hotaru's cry was heard by the denizens in the wood, through the room's open window; Artemis flexed as he instinctively gathered himself to speed to that cry. But Sailor Pluto simply stood calmly, making not a move, and so Artemis paused, torn between the impulse to rush into the shrine to help if he could, and the need to watch the Senshi of Time. After a few heartbeats, he settled back into watchful waiting.

Sailor Pluto moved not at all.

* * *

The one summoned slid open the door of the room in which Hotaru lay, and strode quickly inside, sliding the door shut again behind her. She moved into the room, then stopped, as each senshi looked at the other.

Hotaru lay upon the mats, wearing a robe, but it was greatly awry, as if she had ripped at the material, as indeed she had. The robe almost was open; her adolescent breasts barely covered. She looked up at the one she had cried for, with a look of desperation and panic. "Please get him off me," Hotaru grimly pleaded between her clenched teeth, beseeching the nude figure before her. A part of her mind noted that the figure was stunningly beautiful, but her panic drove out any other thoughts.

The summoned one quickly stepped over to Hotaru, and knelt down next to her. "I'm sorry, Hotaru, I can't do that," she thickly whispered. "But I can do this..." And Minako gently pressed her lips to Hotaru's, her long blonde hair cascading down around Hotaru's surprised face.

Hotaru gasped even as Minako kissed her, as the kiss from the senshi above her almost drove the Princess' sensations from her perception. Minako raised her head to look Hotaru deep in the eyes. "Does that help?" Minako murmured. Hotaru simply nodded, too astonished to speak. Minako smiled, and gracefully twisted around until she lay on her side beside Hotaru, both still gazing into the other's eyes.

They then both felt a ghostly hand caress their right breasts. Hotaru slapped futilely at the hand that wasn't actually there, a frustrated and scared sound rising from her throat. "Shhh," Minako whispered, slipping her own hand inside the younger girl's robe, and gently cupping the small breast. As Minako slowly mimicked what Mamoru was doing to Usagi, massaging her breast and nipple, Hotaru's face betrayed her decidedly mixed emotions. Minako returned to kissing Hotaru while continuing the manual manipulations of her breasts, switching from one to the other as the ghostly presences they both felt switched. After a while, Hotaru began to tentatively return Minako's kisses instead of passively accept them, and Minako smiled even as she nibbled at Hotaru's lips.

Soon a trail of ghostly kisses was proceeding down their necks to their chests. Minako dutifully followed, rising to a crouch over Hotaru, kissing her way down to Hotaru's breasts, and placing her lips gently on the girl's left nipple. Hotaru moaned as Minako nibbled and sucked on her young breasts, twisting under the older girl's ministrations, as Minako's own moans were drawn from her by the ghostly lips that nibbled at her as well.

The two felt their legs being spread, even as their own legs did not move. Hotaru made a frightened gasp again, as Minako rose up slightly, sliding her hands down Hotaru's sides and completely opening the tattered robe. Knowing what Mamoru was going to do next to Usagi, she began to position herself between the girl's legs. "Trust me," Minako asked, almost pleaded, as she slowly grasped Hotaru's knees and began to pull them up and apart. As Minako began to kiss and lick her way up Hotaru's inner thighs, the younger girl shook, torn between the pleasure the older girl was giving to her and the unwelcomeness of the situation in which it was all happening.

Strangely, it was the gentle caress of Minako's hair brushing against her legs as the older girl switched her kisses from leg to leg, a feature that the ghostly sensations completely lacked, that enabled Hotaru to keep her focus on the reality. She fought down her panic, and raised her head slightly to watch as Minako's kisses and caresses came oh so slowly closer to her most private place.

Minako's lips brushed lightly on the top of Hotaru's mound, kissing at the place where pubic hair had not yet grown. With gently torturous slowness, Minako moved her lips down the young girl's small slit, letting just a tip of her tongue free to moisten Hotaru's flesh. Hotaru gasped at the feelings this intimate touch ignited inside her. Her own shocked pleasure, and the clear echo of Usagi's yearning, danced inside of her, mixing into each other.

Minako began to lap at Hotaru's outer lips, as the ghost tongue did the same. As Hotaru began to squirm under her, Minako longed to use a hand for her own pleasure, but did not dare. Following the ghostly prompt, Minako let her tongue probe gently yet insistently into the soft folds, burrowing deeper. Sliding her left hand over from where it grasped Hotaru's hip, she used her fingers to spread the small lips and reveal the delicate flesh.

Minako mentally cursed Mamoru for moving so fast, but follow his ghostly lead she must, and so Minako muffled her own moans by grasping Hotaru's clitoris with her lips and teasing it with her tongue. Hotaru's hips rose involuntarily against Minako's mouth. Hotaru distantly heard herself moan as the unfamiliar pleasure shuddered through her body.

As the minutes passed with Minako's tongue licking and probing at her most sensitive area, Hotaru felt the elation build inside her. She could no longer tell what part was being given to her by the wash of Usagi's feeling and what part from Minako's talented tongue. Panting, she grabbed Minako's head and ground herself into Mina's lips. Minako was elated as well, both because Hotaru was mimicking Usagi's actions and due to her own experience of Usagi's feelings rushing through her.

Suddenly both girls climaxed, as Usagi did. Hotaru and Minako moaned as the shudders ran through their bodies, and similar cries could be heard from the next room as their fellow senshi responded as well. Hotaru felt her body arc upwards, her own body's pleasure mixing with Usagi's outpouring of pleasure and love, until the young warrior could take no more, and fell back, spent and unconscious.

* * *

Hotaru opened her eyes. To discover Minako smiling down at her.

Hotaru slowly sat up, the sheet that had been drawn over her nude form sliding away until she caught the edge to cover herself. Minako sat close by, legs covered by the same sheet, obviously waiting for the younger girl to recover.

"You okay?" Minako asked. Hotaru nodded, not really trusting herself to speak. Not knowing what to say.

Minako leaned over towards the small table in the corner, and gathered up two of the cans of juice. She handed one to Hotaru, who took it without thinking. As Minako began to sip at her own can, Hotaru merely held hers in her lap, trying not to remember what she and Minako had been doing minutes before.

Minako softly spoke. "When Rei and I... 'helped' each other the first time, afterwards we were so embarrassed about it that we couldn't look at each other for _days_."

Hotaru, shocked that Minako had so accurately known Hotaru's feelings at that moment, looked up into the other girl's eyes. Eyes filled with understanding, and affection, and barely contained mirth.

Hotaru couldn't help it. She giggled.

The two girls laughed, if one somewhat ruefully. Minako swiveled around and drew the smaller girl to her in a one-armed hug, and Hotaru let herself be drawn in, the two of them giggling at each other.

Down the hall, their faintly-heard laughter drew smiles from the other three entangled girls, who started softly giggling themselves.

Minako squeezed Hotaru again, and murmured, "There are worse ways to fight to save the world, aren't there?"

Hotaru nodded, still softly giggling. "Thank you, Minako."

"My pleasure," replied Minako rather wryly.

"Oh!" Hotaru's hand flew up to cover her mouth in realization. "But I didn't... you did everything for me..."

"Oh, shush. Don't worry about that. I'm just glad you didn't experience it the first time all by yourself, like the rest of us did. Besides," Minako paused. "The night isn't over yet."

Hotaru again gave a startled look. "What."

Minako sighed. "I'm afraid that was just the opening act, Hotaru. If they follow their usual pattern, now it's Usagi's turn to give back to Mamoru." Minako gestured with the can she held. "That's what the juice is for."

Hotaru's puzzlement at this last statement was promptly relieved, as both girls felt with their lips and mouths the ghostly echo of Usagi taking Mamoru's rigid penis into her mouth.

Hotaru was caught completely by surprise and began to gag. Minako quickly grabbed Hotaru's hand that held the juice can and brought it up to her lips, encouraging the younger girl to drink. Hotaru started to take a sip, but choked in reaction to the sensation of rhythmic thrusting against her tongue.

Seeing Hotaru's distress, Minako quickly, gently, lifted the other girl's chin. Gazing into Hotaru's eyes, Minako said calmly, "Well, there's the other way..." and kissed her.

This kiss was not like the tentative joining of lips they had shared earlier. Minako's lips toyed with Hotaru's, insistently, as Minako reached up to caress the young girl's face. Hotaru found this to be a quite sufficient distraction from the impressions that Usagi was sending to them, and began to slowly return Minako's kisses. She felt Minako's tongue press lightly against her lips, and she cautiously opened up to the supple invader.

Minako's tongue slipped inside of Hotaru's mouth, bringing the taste of the juice that Minako had been drinking, and another taste as well. Hotaru realized that it was her own taste, her own juices on Minako's tongue. It was not an unpleasant sensation.

Minako slid her hand from where it cupped Hotaru's cheek, and slowly moved it into her thick black hair. Gently, ever gently, the senshi of Love played with the dark tresses, and slowly caressed the small girl's scalp.

It was this, strangely, this least intimate touch that she'd received thus far from the older girl, that suddenly seemed to shock Hotaru. She pulled back from Minako, suddenly no longer just swept away by the sensations from their Princess, but keenly aware of what they were doing.

"We're... we're _kissing_," Hotaru whispered.

Minako smiled and nodded, letting her fingers glide through and out of Hotaru's hair, and then drawing her hand back. She began to speak, but was interrupted by the sensation of the ghostly invader in her mouth plunging deep and spasming. The distinct, slightly salty flavor of sperm arrived in both of the girls' throats, causing both to cough, as they felt their future monarch swallow repeatedly.

Once both of them had recovered, Minako raised the nearly forgotten juice. "Like I said," as she quickly began to drink, "this is what the juice is for." They both drank the remainder from their cans, the ghostly saltiness washed away, then Minako took the empty can from Hotaru. Stretching over to the small table, she placed the empties there for the moment.

Turning back to Hotaru, Minako saw that the younger girl was furiously blushing, looking down at her lap. Minako sighed. "Well, Hotaru, we should have a little while now before they do anything else, at least." Hotaru gave a quick look of questioning. "It takes men a while to recover, before they can... go again," Minako explained, resulting in Hotaru looking even more embarrassed.

Minako sighed again, and hesitantly put her arm around the shoulders of the girl next to her. "Again, I'm sorry, Hotaru. This has all happened to you so fast. The others... we had more time to figure it out and deal with it. Emotionally, I mean."

Hotaru just remained silent. Minako said quietly, "It's a weird feeling to do these intimate things with someone who isn't your real love, your soul mate." Hotaru looked up at Minako, and nodded slowly.

Minako again squeezed Hotaru in reassurance. "It's okay, Hotaru. After all this started, and after Ami and Makoto finally admitted that they loved each other, Rei and I felt that we shouldn't impose on them when... we do this. So Rei and I had to work through some of the same feelings you're probably having now. Though Ami and Mako later let us know it wasn't an imposition as far as they were concerned.

"Hotaru, sharing these experiences, and sharing our bodies too, is part of our friendship. It's not an ordinary thing friends do, no. But then, we do lots of things that ordinary people don't do. Or can't do. Or don't have to do. And we have to. That part of it isn't under our control, for the time being at least.

"So although we have to put up with this, for now, we can share the burden of it. As fellow senshi, we have to. As friends, too, I hope, if we choose to. But we both know we're not soulmates, so we don't have to worry about hurting each other's feelings for that reason."

Hotaru looked up briefly at Minako, and slowly nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. I... I am glad you're... helping me... tonight."

Minako giggled and squeezed Hotaru again. "If nothing else, you're learning a few things you can share with Chibi-usa later on."

Hotaru's head spun around with a look of utter shock, and she looked at Minako, horrified. Minako just smiled, and said, "You didn't hide how you feel about her all that well, you know. You were so sad after Chibi-usa went back to her own time and all. But we'll catch up to her eventually."

Hotaru's face became granite, as did her tone. "Sailor Venus, I will never see Chibi-usa again."

* * *

Artemis changed position slightly, noting with some irritation that Sailor Pluto had apparently not needed to do the same. He gave a polite cough, adding, "Perhaps things are now past the point of being any threat?"

"Alas, no," replied the senshi beside him.

Artemis grumpily muttered, "I should be doing a patrol around the shrine."

At this, Sailor Pluto at last turned to look at him. "Fear not on that count, Artemis; you can keep vigil from your current post. There will be no threat to any this night, save from those already here on the shrine grounds, and already known by you to be here."

Artemis cocked his head to the side. "And do I dare believe you?"

Sailor Pluto feigned surprise. "Would I lie?"

Artemis contemplated the senshi of time. Slowly, he replied, "Yes. Yes, I think you would. But only if you had to."

A noncommittal "Ah," was the only response before she turned to once again look upon the shrine buildings, where the younger senshi reposed in various states of languor, satisfaction, shock, and utter despair. Artemis likewise turned to the shrine, wariness firing anew within him.

* * *

Minako had unthinkingly withdrawn her arm from around the younger girl, her hand flying to cover her mouth. She stared in shocked surprise at Hotaru, as the dark-haired warrior spoke.

"When Sailor Moon caused me to be reborn right after I defeated Pharaoh Ninety, and then Nephria made me grow so fast, it caused me to remember most of my previous life. My papa. Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa trying to kill me. And I remember Chibi-usa. I could never forget her. But one thing I wish I had forgotten. When Chibi-usa came from the future that first time, she knew who all of you were, though she was forbidden to tell you at first. She even knew of Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, though not well, and Pluto of course. She knew all of you... but she didn't know me. She didn't know me _at all_."

Hotaru gazed fiercely at Minako. "I am not in the future. I don't get to be with Chibi-usa in Crystal Tokyo. She didn't know me, because I'm not there to know. I die before the end, Sailor Venus. Either I die tonight by threatening the timeline and Setsuna-mama kills me, or I die fighting the ice to come. Or I die causing it. Or something else. I don't know. I just know I'm going to die, without ever seeing Chibi-usa again.

"The rest of you live. I don't."

Minako simply stared in stunned silence. Hotaru's fierce gaze dropped to the floor in front of her, and she slumped, the anger draining away. Minako could barely hear the whisper, "I'd like to live. But I won't. I never do."

Minako haltingly reached towards the huddled girl. "Maybe there's another reason she didn't know you. Maybe you were sent away," her whisper petered out as Hotaru wearily looked over at her.

"Do you think I would stay away from Chibi-usa? For that long? Do you think I could? Do you really think anyone could, for hundreds of years?" Hotaru asked.

Minako shook her head. "No. I guess not. But maybe there's another explanation, Hotaru. We... the rest of us didn't think of Chibi-usa not recognizing you. We'll think about it now. We'll find a way, Hotaru. We'll find a way."

Hotaru simply looked at Minako. "Thank you, Minako, but I'd rather you didn't tell the others."

Minako opened her mouth to speak, to convince the younger girl, but unfortunately they both felt Usagi, to whom they were still, _still_ linked, lie back eagerly with Mamoru kissing her deeply.

Hotaru flopped backwards onto the mat, croaking weakly, "No. No more." Minako scrambled on her hands and knees over to Hotaru, looking down into her eyes, both girls near panic. "I can't. I can't," Hotaru desperately told the girl whose blonde hair cascaded down around her head. "You must. You _must_," Minako pleaded.

They both felt the warm, blunt, living flesh begin to press against their mounds, the flesh that was not there, not really, but it was felt all the same, seeking entrance in their Princess, but also in them.

At the touch of the incipient invader, Hotaru cried out "NO!" in indignation and rejection. The room flashed as the sigil of Saturn flickered to life upon the young girl's brow. Hotaru gathered herself to fight against the invader that was beginning to slide obscenely inside her.

But Minako was still atop the girl. Growling "YES!" in the tone of command, not from want or desire but from utter necessity, Minako grabbed the arms of the girl beneath her, pinning her down, as the sigil of Venus glared to life as well, in answer to the one already alight.

Their eyes locked for an instant, as the world seemed to pause; even the ghostly echo of the Prince's phallus halting in its inward charge.

(In the quiet times in the years after, between the exhausting work of rebuilding and maintaining the world, and fighting off the dangers that inevitably arose again and again, Sailor Venus would often think back to that moment, that scintilla of time, and wonder why on Earth she thought to do what she did. And also think of all that came after, because of it. Only because of it.)

With a soft inarticulate noise of desperation, Minako brought her head down to, so she thought, gaze right into Hotaru's eyes; to plead, to beg, to command the girl to accept this indignity for the sake of the world. But as she did so, she unthinkingly brought her brow down upon Hotaru's. _Joining the two shining sigils as one_.

And the world was gone.

* * *

As Artemis leaped from his branch in response to Minako's shout, he saw from the corner of his eye that which he'd been fearing. He saw Sailor Pluto moving forward as well.

Touching down upon the ground he whirled around, to stand in front of the senshi of time. Between her and those he loved. "Stop!" he hissed into the night, realizing even as the words escaped from his lips how utterly useless they would be.

To his complete astonishment, she _did_ stop. Sailor Pluto looked down at the white mooncat crouched down before her, and brought her Time Staff to bear upon him.

"Would you really save them, Artemis? Though the cost be everything they've fought for?"

"Yes."

"Though the cost be your own life?"

"Yes."

"Even for Sailor Saturn?"

"Even for Sailor Saturn, Sailor Pluto."

They stood thus engaged, the cat poised to spring, the senshi prepared to unleash the staff upon him. A heartbeat's moment of time passed. Another.

Sailor Pluto shimmered, and returned to being Setsuna. Artemis warily rose from his crouch, not quite believing that it was not a trick of some sort.

Setsuna turned, walked back to the tree that Artemis had been perched in, and wearily sat down at the base, seemingly heedless of her attire becoming soiled by the soft earth. She sighed deeply, and then stretched, yawning.

She turned to the white cat, who was looking at her quite puzzled. "Do you mind if I take a bit of a nap here, Artemis? You can watch over me tonight, too, if you would."

"You're... you're taking a nap?"

"Yes. Is that all right?"

"Well... yes, but... you... that's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're not going to fight?"

"Not unless you really want to, Artemis."

"So... you're not going to attack anyone?"

"No. The threat to the timeline has passed. There's no need."

"Oh."

Setsuna settled in, leaning back against the tree and closing her eyes. "But you can watch me while I nap, if you don't quite believe me."

Artemis returned to the tree limb, where he could watch both the shrine and the apparently sleeping Setsuna beneath him. He tried to remain wary, but he had to admit that Setsuna certainly seemed to be asleep, or at least deeply resting, and not at all like someone about to leap forth and do battle.

So he watched both that before and that below him, as the night slowly dragged on.

* * *

Rei groaned softly, the ghostly phallus of her ex-boyfriend filling her, as Makoto's fingers plunged in and out of her as well, matching the tempo of the thrusts. Half of Rei's attention was on fingering Ami as well, while also sucking on one of Makoto's nipples while Ami did the same on the other. The three moved together, fingers and tongues and soft moans.

Rei spared a thought for Minako and Hotaru, wondering how things were going. 'Must be okay,' she thought, 'since we haven't

disappeared in a blast of time.'

She would only learn in the morning how right, and yet how very wrong, she was.

Rei moaned with pleasure as Ami switched from her lover's nipple to one of Rei's. She thought very little after that.

* * *

The small room was gone and all around them was grayness. They were lost in the gray. There was power, and there was detachment, and there were thoughts; these together slammed into the two girls' minds. The sensation was indescribable, because there was no sensation, not really, as things weren't sensed, they simply were. Both were aware of the power of the other senshi flowing between them, streaming and entwining, leaving and returning and leaving on a circuit of energy running from and through them. They could feel their bodies at least, but could feel the other's as well; they both were pinned to the mat, they both were pinning the other down; yet both were in the grayness, floating in the nothingness. They could still feel the waves from Usagi, from Mamoru plunging deep inside her, they were both pierced by him as well, but both felt those waves from Minako far stronger than from Hotaru.

And then the thoughts.

Hotaru's thoughts of despair were known to Minako. Not revealed slowly, like the peeling of a fruit, but known instantly. Her longing for Chibi-usa; her absolute knowledge of her impending death; her fear of making a mistake that would blot out her friend's very existence; and the horror at the thought that she might die for no reason other than she wasn't needed anymore, that she wasn't even really supposed to be here by this time... that she was supposed to not _be_, at all. Her feeling that she existed only to bring ruin and death. And the knowledge that Sailor Pluto was outside the shrine.

In the same instant, Minako's thoughts were also known to Hotaru. Her desperation to help Hotaru through this necessary submission to Usagi's experience; her self-disgust at what she was having to put Hotaru through; her disbelief that none of them had thought of Sailor Saturn's seeming lack of existence in the very future they were fighting to preserve. Her determination to save Hotaru somehow. Her bonds of friendship with the three senshi in the other room. How much she loved them. How much she loved Usagi. And how much she loved Hotaru as well.

Each realized, and felt the other realize, how much their senshi natures were part and parcel of their essence. Hotaru _was_ death, and sorrow, and the dark places of the soul, and the small but bright hope of rebirth, however paradoxically. Minako _was_ love, the strong kind of love that binds soul to soul, and gives courage, and does not admit defeat ever but goes on and on, stubborn love, defiant, blindingly brilliant. It wasn't a costume that they wore while playing senshi, nor was it a part of their transformations when moving from senshi to girl and back again. It was not _all_ that they were; they were human girls as well... but still, it was who they were, down to the depths of their beings.

Each shook to their core, at this revelation of themselves, to themselves and to the other; each felt the other shaken; each reached out to the other to comfort her.

But then, more than this became known, each to the other. Minako suddenly knew of Hotaru's pain of wondering when Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama might need to kill her yet again. Of Hotaru's near-compulsion to touch things with her hands, lightly, as the thought of returning to non-existence and not being able to touch anything came to her mind. Of her spying on Haruka and Michiru in their private moments, childish curiosity winning over respect for their privacy. And Hotaru knew of Minako's hatred of lying to her parents to cover her senshi activities. Of how heavy the burden of leading the senshi sometimes felt. Of knowing that when lying with Rei, sometimes Rei was thinking of her as Usagi, the one Rei truly loved.

Each knew the other knew. Then it seemed they would go deeper into each other, with the waves of pleasure from Usagi still pounding into them both, and the flow of the power still running through each other. Deeper, reading the past events of the other's life like flipping backward through a storybook. Like nothing of themselves would be secret, or private, or safe.

They pushed against each other then, a violent sense of negation and refusal rising up from them both, that the other not know everything, not know all. That naked as they were, they not be stripped that utterly bare.

Minako flew off Hotaru and rolled away, bouncing off the wall of the little room and bumping the little table in the corner. The candles and cans tumbled; the lit candle rolled off and landed flame-down upon Minako's hip, hissing as her flesh extinguished it. Minako hissed as well, recoiling from the pain, rebounding to a stop beside the younger girl. Minako lay face down next to Hotaru, the darkness now broken only by a faint sliver of moonlight from the window. Both girls panted, then groaned as Usagi's sensations still rose within them, their Princess approaching the peak of her pleasure, the Prince still grinding within them. Both girls' hips moved involuntarily with the thrusts, Hotaru too stunned to fight the ghostly penetration. Minako dragged her arm up to take Hotaru's hand, too drained to do more. They gripped each other's hands, a desperate lifeline, as the all-encompassing, irresistible wave of Usagi's orgasm crashed into them, and again, and yet again. Flotsam on the waves of Usagi's love.

* * *

Hotaru slowly opened her eyes. It seemed to be much later. The room was still dark. Hotaru realized she was lying on her side, still nude, with Minako lying behind her, one arm draped loosely around Hotaru's middle and the other looped under the younger girl's body. Hotaru felt Minako's breasts against her back, and the slight breeze on her neck as the blonde breathed slowly in her sleep. Hotaru moved her legs slightly, feeling Minako's legs entwined with them. Slowly, so as not to disturb Minako's continued slumber, Hotaru pulled the other girl's arm up to clutch it more tightly to her chest. Hotaru closed her eyes, surprised at how much she enjoyed the feel of being naked in Minako's embrace, skin against skin, and at last without Usagi's feelings intruding upon her own. The little senshi of death let herself slip back into sleep, cocooned by the senshi of love. Her last, sad thought before sleep again claimed her, was how nice it would be to hold Chibi-usa the way Minako was holding her.

* * *

Hotaru awoke to the sensation of warmth escaping. She realized that Minako was already awake, and had pulled away from her. The young girl sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover her chest, turning towards the older girl.

"Good morning," Minako sleepily greeted her. Minako yawned as she looked down at her hip, where the candle had burned her the previous evening. Though small, the wound burned an ugly red. Minako poked at it, and winced.

Wordlessly, Hotaru leaned forward. She brushed Minako's hand aside, and laid her own hand on the other girl's burn. Her hand glowed briefly. The glow faded, and she sat back, slumping slightly.

The burn was gone. Minako smiled brightly. "Thank you, Hotaru." Hotaru smiled briefly in return, but shook her head, looking down at the floor.

Minako reached out and put her fingers under Hotaru's chin, lifting the girl's face. "Hotaru, death is not all that you bring. Please remember that."

Hotaru shrugged. "Healing one person isn't much compared to destroying a whole planet."

Minako tilted her head. "Have you ever tried healing a whole planet?" she wondered.

Hotaru looked shocked, then laughed. "I don't think I could do that, I'm afraid."

(Under a tree, guarded by a watchful mooncat and enwrapped in the faint rays of the growing dawn, the senshi of time appeared to still be sleeping. Anyone looking would have had to be quite close to see the slight smile suddenly appear on her face.)

Minako shrugged in return. Then she rubbed her forehead, saying carefully, "We certainly shared a lot last night. I didn't know we could do that. Did you?" Hotaru shook her head.

"I'll have to share this with the others, you know." Hotaru sighed, but nodded. "I won't tell them what we... learned about ourselves, of course," Minako quickly added. Hotaru merely nodded again.

"Well, I guess we should get dressed," Minako said as she rose. Hotaru also stood, beginning to move towards her bag. She stopped as Minako touched her shoulder.

"Hotaru, I know you think it's hopeless, but I swear I'll do everything I can to make you see Chibi-usa again," Minako solemnly told the young senshi. Hotaru gazed up at the taller girl, expression unreadable. Minako gathered Hotaru into her arms. Hotaru returned the hug, whispering, "Thank you."

The two girls stood there, hugging each other as the first faint light of dawn played over their nude forms, for a very long time.

* * *

Makoto sat up grumpily. The new day's light had already invaded the room, so she could clearly see Rei, again dressed in her miko robes, sitting over on the other mats. "Good morning," Rei quietly said. Makoto grunted something in reply, and started to flop back down beside her lover. But then a slight noise from the hallway attracted her sleepy gaze.

Minako and Hotaru came into the room, Minako wearing one of the spare robes, and Hotaru in the change of clothes she'd brought. "Um. Hey," Makoto mumbled in their direction, "you want breakfast now?" Minako's eyes light up, but Hotaru shook her head, saying "Thank you Makoto, but Setsuna-mama is waiting for me outside already."

"Okay," Makoto said, as she laid back down next to Amy, cuddling up to her. Amy unconsciously murmured and wiggled back further into Makoto's embrace. Hotaru smiled. "They look just like Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa." Rei and Minako joined her in smiling at the sleeping couple.

"I assume everything went all right?" asked Rei as she stood. Minako and Hotaru glanced at each other. "Well, mostly. Yes," Minako told her.

"When will Usagi have another date, do you think?" Hotaru asked the both of them. "Probably next week, I should imagine," Rei replied. Hotaru blushed slightly. "Can... can I come back then?"

"Of course!" Rei said, smiling. "Anytime we know the two of them are getting together, we'll let you know. But, sometimes they do surprise us. Can you..." Rei paused. "Can you handle it alone, if you need to?"

Hotaru nodded, still blushing. "I think I can, now that I know what's happening and why. But... but it's nice to know I won't always have to. Be alone that is."

Minako's smile was beaming. "Well, I'll show you out, if you're sure Setsuna-san is waiting." Hotaru nodded as Minako led her towards the door. The two girls slipped on their shoes, then went out into the chilly early morning air, sliding the door shut behind them.

Rei watched them go, then turned to gaze again on her sleeping compatriots. Makoto and Ami were both curled up against each other, smiling in their sleep. Rei shook her head bemusedly and begin to try to straighten the room up without disturbing their dreams.

Setsuna stood at the top of the stairs, and smiled as Hotaru and Minako approached. "Did you have a good visit?" she asked Hotaru. Hotaru and Minako glanced at each other. "It was fine," Hotaru finally replied. Minako nodded, adding, "There shouldn't be a problem. And Hotaru should come back whenever she needs to. Or wants to, of course."

"Of course. One of us can bring Hotaru over whenever she likes. Shall we go?" Setsuna gestured towards the long stairway down to the road. Hotaru nodded, preceding her guardian downwards. Minako smiled and waved, watching them for a bit as the two strolled down the stairs. Then as she turned back towards the shrine, she felt the familiar weight land on her shoulder.

"Hi," she said, scratching her cat under his chin. "Good timing, you're just in time for breakfast. And to help me figure out how to tell the others about what Hotaru and I found out last night." "I'm always here to help, Minako," replied the white cat, trying not to yawn as Minako walked back to the warm room awaiting them, "I almost came in last night when I heard Hotaru shout." "Good thing you didn't, Artemis," replied the senshi of love thoughtfully. "You might have messed everything up."

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hotaru turned around to gaze at the person she thought of as one of her mothers. "Setsuna-mama... would you have killed me last night?"

"No," Setsuna replied, not appearing to be taken aback at all by the question.

Hotaru, surprised, blurted, "Even if I had broken the time line? Even if I had blocked Usagi and killed Chibi-usa?"

"You wouldn't have, dear. You weren't any danger to the stream of time at all."

"Then... but, then why did you stay at the shrine all night? I'm sure I felt you outside, mama."

"Yes, I was outside," Setsuna said as she walked around the car and got in. "I had to handle the threat to the time line. Three times, in fact."

Hotaru appeared confused as she got in the car on her side. "I don't understand. I didn't feel you do anything."

Setsuna smiled slightly as she started the car. "It's simple. For the first threat, I didn't move. For the second, I told the truth. And for the third, I took two steps, then had a nap."

Hotaru looked over at her, confusion mixed with disbelief.

Setsuna smile grew ever so slightly. "Don't worry about it, dear. Worry about how much Haruka is going to tease you when we get back."

Hotaru's look of dismay needed no words. Setsuna still smiled mysteriously as she pulled out, heading for home.

THE END

* * *

Author's Notes:

- If this story seems familiar to readers on , it's because it was posted here previously by someone who was not the author and did not have permission from me (the actual author) to do so. That version has been removed, and this one uploaded to prevent such a situation in the future.

- There will be a sequel. (well, unless a mob shows up with torches and pitchforks, stating otherwise)


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